This Saturday night racer has a high mix of hoses in the engine compartment. They range from OEM hoses to moderately priced hoses with push-on threaded ends to high-dollar braided hoses. It is imperative that we make decisions about hoses based on the need and the suitability for the application, not the way the hoses look.
In the modern race car, at all levels, we will find a great variety of hose assemblies and ducting. At the highest levels of the sport, almost all of the lines are comprised of braided steel, with the exception being the metal tubes for much of the brake lines. You will find braided-steel lines at the suspension points, where some flex is required due to suspension movement. While this looks great and has a very high level of performance, it is not required for the majority of Saturday night racers. For the most part, the OEM lines will work just fine. There is no need to spend money on braided-steel lines and special fittings. But they do look cool.
For the movement of water from the engine to the radiator, stock hoses or possibly a high-performance rubber hose will work just fine. A set of $25 radiator hoses will come closer to fitting your budget than a set of $200 hoses and fittings. You will find, however, that as horsepower starts to climb, you may need to upgrade to a better hose. This will require a modification to the radiator, water pump, and thermostat housings to accept the threaded hose ends required for the majority of high-performance hoses.
For brake lines, the braided-steel, high-performance lines offer a bit more performance and possibly a better feel at the pedal because they tend to expand less than the OEM lines when pushed to the extreme duty found in racing situations. Many racers prefer the feel in the pedal after changing to the braided-steel lines. They offer a greater level of durability than the OEM lines. But this durability comes at a cost several times greater than the OEM lines.
It is possible that you will require some sort of ducting to route cooling air to brakes, oil coolers, the transmission, rearend coolers, and possibly the driver. This application will require a special ducting that is able to handle the high temperatures at the coolers, and this is especially true of the brake ducts. Using dryer ducting is not an acceptable alternative for this application. Special high-temperature ducts can be purchased at most racing shops. These ducts are very strong and durable, lasting for multiple seasons. Using the wrong type of duct may allow the opportunity to test your fire-suppression system.
This upper radiator "hose" has been fabricated from the same combination of stainless steel and high-temp silicone rubber. Every application yields different approaches to solving a unique problem.
Transmission oil and engine oil coolers require special hoses that are compatible with these fluids. Remember, if you are planning on upgrading to a braided-steel hose, you will need special hose ends and the tools to install them. These hoses are quite durable. You need to make sure all the hoses you are using are compatible with oil and able to withstand temperatures approaching 300 degrees F.
Power steering hoses are typically placed under greater loads in a stock car due to the increased speeds the engine is turning, and the greater engine rpm can sometimes create greater pressures at the pump. The elevated rpm levels also place a greater heat load in the hydraulic fluid. This places the hoses under greater loads than they would ever see in your street car. The stock hoses usually work in most applications, but you may need a custom set of hoses for the combinations and semi-custom setups a racer may use. For special needs, you may have to custom-fabricate your hoses. Many of the larger auto parts stores offer a hose fabrication service. The cost is quite reasonable considering the special tooling required to swedge the hose ends in place.
The bottom line is that hoses and ducts need to perform and make working on your car easier without breaking the bank. Use a common sense approach when selecting hoses and ducts. Get what you need to get the job done. If the OEM hose works and other racers are using the same type of hose, then you are probably safe to follow suit. But just because the guy next to you in the pits has a full set of braided-steel radiator hoses, that does not mean you need the same thing on your car. Be the leader, not the follower.
While this is a perfectly acceptable hose connection, the end of the hose clamp is in the perfect position to slice open your hand when you open the radiator cap. This clamp was repositioned as part of the pre-race inspection process when it was discovered while topping off the radiator fluid. Luckily, nobody was hurt. | 
This is a very clean transition from a hard line to a braided-steel brake line. The mount is clean, the fitting is easy to check for tightness, and the OEM-style fixture is very reasonable in cost. All in all, it is a very sound mounting method and transition from hard line to flex line. | 
The rearend cooler is mounted next to an electric oil pump, and the lines are braided cotton over a synthetic rubber hose. This is a very clean setup. The electric oil pump has the advantage of being switched on and off as needed. |